Part 2: Student and Staff Data from the California Healthy Kids Data System

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Part 2 Student and Staff Data from the
California Healthy Kids Data System
Resilience, School Connectedness, Academic
Achievement
Gregory Austin, PhD (gaustin_at_wested.org) June
23, 2006
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Presentation

• Overview to the CHKS Student and Staff School
  Climate surveys and their use as school
  improvement tools
• Data on the level of school assets and
  connectedness in California schools
• The relationship of CHKS resilience indicators to
  API and SAT-9 scores and other measures of
  academic performance and school behavior.
• Staff perceptions of staff-student relationships
  and the school learning environment.

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Tools for School Improvement
Though mandated in compliance with NCLB Title IV
requirements, the CHKS data collection system
provides a wealth of information from students
and staff to inform and guide school improvement
efforts. Including

• Student behaviors linked to achievement
• School climate and environment
• Barriers to learning
• Teacher-student and staff relations
• School connectedness and motivation to learn

Funded by CDEs Safe and Healthy Kids Program
Office
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CHKS Student Survey

• Nations largest, most comprehensive local
  student behavior data system, grades 5-12 (began
  1997 mandated fall 2003)
• Fulfills NCLB Title IV data requirements
• Designed to (a) meet multiple data needs of
  local, regional, and state agencies (b) reduce
  survey burden and costs on schools
• Assess youth needs and guide program decision
  making
• Improve youth well-being and achievement

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Everything is on the Website http//www.wested.o
rg/hks
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Requirements (CDE)

• Biennial representative district survey
• Grades 5, 7, 9, 11, and Continuation
• Voluntary, anonymous student participation with
  parental permission
• Standardized administration procedures and
  protections
• Provide results for aggregation into single
  database

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Database Size

• 85 of districts have valid school-level data
• Participating districts represent 95 of state
  enrollment
• 90 of counties coordinate for representative
  data

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Modular Secondary Survey Content

• Core (Required)
• Demographics
• School grades and truancy
• ATOD Use and Violence
• Exercise, Eating, Height/weight, Asthma Risk
• Resilience and Youth Development Module (RYDM)
• School Connectedness External Assets in
  School/Community (Required)
• External Assets in Home Peer Group
• Internal Assets
• Four supplementary modules (tobacco, AOD
  use/violence, sexual behavior, physical health)

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Survey Content (continued)

• Single Elementary covers Core RYDM
• Custom modules allow questions of local interest
  to be added on any subject
• Enable schools to incorporate program evaluation
  questions to determine what is working!

Not just a Survey A Data Collection System
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Core School Indicators (41 Items)

• Grades received (1)
• Classes skipped/cut (1)
• Transience (1)
• AOD use at school AOD problems with school work
  and behavior (9)
• Violence perpetration weapons possession (3)
• Victimization and harassment (11)
• Perceived safety (1)
• School environmental assets (9)
• School connectedness (5)

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Assessing Barriers to Learning

• CHKS identifies health-related barriers to
  learning to guide promotion of LEARNING SUPPORTS
  
• The nonacademic resources and instructional
  strategies that give students the physical,
  social, emotional, and intellectual support
  needed to learn.
• Learning is impaired when students are
• Tired or restless
• Malnourished or sick
• Stressed or fearful, bullied or abused
• Under the influence of alcohol or drugs

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Resilience and Youth Development Module (RYDM)
Theoretical Framework Scales
RYDM Internal Assets
Resiliency In Action
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Secondary School Asset Scales
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Internal Asset Scales
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School Connectedness Scale
Assesses personal feelings about the school,
versus perceived environmental assets by School
Asset Scales.

• I feel close to people at this school.
• I am happy to be at this school.
• I feel like I am part of this school.
• The teachers at this school treat students
  fairly.
• I feel safe in my school.

• Add Health research shows
• School connectedness associated with improved
  grade-point average and lower out-of-school
  suspension one year later.
• Most powerful predictor of low risk behavior.

Derived from the National Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent Health. Questions ask How strongly
do you agree or disagree
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Staff School Climate Survey

• Required biennially along with student CHKS in
  compliance with NCLB
• All teachers, administrators, staff grades 5
  above (voluntary)
• Low-cost, online, easy-to-use
• Short (43 Core items answered by all)
• Comparability with CHKS student data
• Key school reform variables
• System for collecting other data Add questions
• Adopted by National Evaluation of Safe Schools
  Healthy Students Grantees, 2005

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SCS Core Content (43 items)

• Positive Learning Environment (24-item scale)
• Staff-student relationships school
  connectedness (6 items)
• School norms and standards (9 items)
• Student behaviors that facilitate learning (9
  items)
• Staff and student safety (9 items)
• School rules/policies implementation (2 items)
• Impact student AOD use (3 items)
• Adequacy health/prevention services (3 items)

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What SCS Data Will Tell You

• Is school an inviting and supportive learning
  environment with high standards?
• Are students well-prepared, able motivated to
  learn?
• Are students connected to school?
• Is school a supportive, respectful place to work?
  
• Do staff feel responsibility for school
  improvement? How much is academic achievement a
  priority?
• Do staff feel safe?
• What are the perceived barriers to learning?

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Total School Assets
California RYDM Data 2003-2005
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High in Each School Asset
California RYDM Data 2003-2005
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Trends Total School Assets 2003-05
2003 and 2005 California Student Surveys
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Trends High in Three School Assets 2003-05
2003 and 2005 California Student Surveys
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School Connectedness
California RYDM Data 2003-2005
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Trends in School Connectedness, 2003-05
2003 and 2005 California Student Survey
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What are the affects of variations in resilience
on annual standardized test scores in California?
Download at http//www.wested.org/hks
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CDE (via Stuart Foundation) commissioned
examination of two questions

• Are California students in low performing schools
  exposed to more health risks and fewer
  development supports (assets) than students in
  other schools? (Concurrent or Cross-sectional)
• How are student health risks and resilience
  assets related to the progress of California
  schools in raising test scores?(Longitudinal)

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CHKS/Test Score Analyses

• CHKS (combined grades)
• Core Module (1,700 schools, 800,000 students)
• Resilience Module (600 schools)
• Academic Performance Index (API) scores
  concurrent analyses (Year 1)
• SAT-9 scores by curriculum area longitudinal
  analyses
• 35 health variables
• School-level analysis using regression techniques
• Adjusted for racial/ethnic composition, parental
  education, ELL students, free/reduced meals, and
  baseline test scores (when appropriate)

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Overall Findings

• Concurrent Students in low performing (API)
  schools were characterized by more health risks
  and fewer external assets than students in higher
  performing schools even after accounting for
  socioeconomic characteristics.
• In 75 of measures
• Longitudinal SAT-9 test score gains were larger
  one year later in schools whose students reported
  high levels of physical well-being, safety, and
  resilience, and low levels of substance use,
  violence, and poor mental health controlling
  for baseline scores and SES.
• In 40 of measures

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High in Total School Assets and API
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High in School Caring Relationships and API
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High in School High Expectations and API
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High in School Meaningful Participation and API
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School Caring Relationships and 1-year change in
SAT-9
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School High Expectations and 1-year change in
SAT-9
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Meaningful Participation in Community and 1-year
change in SAT-9
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Methodological Limitations

• Limited to secondary schools that conducted CHKS
  before required (less representative)
• Especially applies to resilience data, which may
  be affected by a selection bias.
• Non-experimental data.
• Other unmeasured factors could account for
  relationship of assets to changes in test scores
• School-level analysis.
• Results need confirmation using student-level
  data.
• Did not examine how change in resilience related
  to change in SAT-9

Still, results indicate that promoting school
environmental assets and school connectedness, as
measured by the CHKS, may be an important
component of any effort to turn around low
performing schools and improve test scores.
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• Other Student Data Linking
• Assets/Connectedness to School Performance
  Indicators

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Skipping School/Classes and School Assets
During the past 12 months about how many times
did you skip school or cut classes?
Aggregated State CHKS Data 2003-2005
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Poor Grades (D/F) School Assets
School Assets
During the past 12 months, how would you
describe the grades you mostly received in
school? (Mostly Ds Fs)
Aggregated State CHKS Data 2003-2005
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School ConnectednessLow Performing Schools (LP)
vs. State Average (Av)
2003-2005 CHKS Lowest API Decile (n13)
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• Asset Promotion Reduces Involvement in Risk
  Behaviors that are Barriers to Learning

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Bringing Weapons to School and School Assets
School Assets
of Students Who Have Brought a Weapon to
School in the Last 30 Days
During the past 30 days, on how many days did
you carry a knife, a gun, a club, any other
weapon on school property?
Aggregated State CHKS Data 2003-2005
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Drunk/high at School 2 Times School Assets
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Substance Abuse Affects Learning Environment for
All

• 9 of 9th graders, Heavy Drug Users are
  responsible for
• 21 of school fighting,
• 24-27 of school vandalism, D/Fs, and chronic
  truancy (once a month or more),
• 34 of weapons possession.
• 18 of 9th graders, Heavy Drug/Alcohol Users are
  responsible for
• About 30 of fighting and vandalism.
• About 40 of chronic truancy, D/Fs, and weapons
  possession.

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Resilience and Reducing Learning Barriers

• Resilience promoting strategies targeting youth
  involved in, or at high rise of, substance abuse
  and other problem behaviors may not only reduce
  odds of school failure but improve the learning
  environment of the whole school.
• This would be especially important in low
  performing schools heavily impacted by substance
  abuse.

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• Staff School Climate Survey
• Staff-Student Relations
• Learning Environment Indicators

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Do Schools Have a Positive Learning and Working
Environment (SCS Scale)?
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey, 2004-06
(n67,464)
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High in Learning Environment Subscales
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey, 2004-06
(n67,464)
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High on Learning Scales and API
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey, 2004-06
(n67,464)
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Three Resilience Indicators
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey,
2004-06 (n67,464)
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Three Learning Indicators Strongly Agree
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey,
2004-06 (n67,464)
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Do Staff Feel Students Are Motivated to Learn?
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey,
2004-06 (n67,464)
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Do Schools Promote Resilience and Assets?
Source CHKS Staff School Climate Survey,
2004-06 (n67,464)
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Conclusions

• The CHKS data on resilience are important for
  guiding and monitoring school improvement
  efforts.
• Youth development and successful learning are
  complimentary and synergistic processes.
• Students capacity for learning cannot be
  optimally engaged if their basic developmental
  needs are not being met.
• Promoting resilience will help foster school
  connectedness and reduce involvement in risk
  behaviors that are barriers to learning, thereby
  enhancing learning motivation and the likelihood
  of academic improvement.
• The greatest need and challenge lie in high
  schools.

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A School Climate that Motivates to Achieve

• Provides students with supportive, caring
  connections to adults at school who model and
  support healthy development.
• Provides clear and consistent messages that
  students can and will succeed.
• Involves students in meaningful activities and
  decision-making in school

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Now What? Listening to Students Workshop!
Conducting Focus Groups with Students to Improve
Understanding of CHKS Data and How to Promote
Positive Student Behavioral, Health, and Academic
Outcomes
CHKS Hotline [phone]
http//www.wested.og/chks
bbenard_at_wested.org
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Implementing Resilience/Youth Development
Strategies in Our Schools

• CHKS Resilience Youth Development Handbook

• Getting Results 5

• Resiliency What We Have Learned

• Turnaround Teachers and Schools

• Student Fishbowl/Focus Groups

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Listening to Students
Educational change, above all, is a
people-related phenomenon for each and every
individual. Students, even little ones, are
people too. Unless they have some meaningful (to
them) role in the enterprise, most educational
change, indeed most education, will fail. I ask
the reader not to think of students as running
the school but to entertain the following
question What would happen if we treated the
student as someone whose opinion mattered in the
introduction and implementation of reform in
schools?
Michael Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational
Change1991